The Quincy Dredge Number Two (previously known as the Calumet and Hecla Dredge Number One) is a dredge currently sunk in shallow water in Torch Lake

Torch Lake (Houghton County, Michigan)

Torch Lake is approximately 2,700 acres lying mostly within Torch Lake Township and having portions within Osceola Township and Schoolcraft Township. The lake is fed by the Traprock River....

, across M-26

M-26 (Michigan highway)

M-26 is a state trunkline highway in the U.S. state of Michigan, running from two miles east of Rockland to its junction with US Highway 41 in Copper Harbor. It generally runs southwest-to-northeast in the western half or Michigan's Upper Peninsula...

 from the Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District

Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District

The Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills Historic District is a historic stamp mill located on M-26 near Torch Lake, just east of Mason in Osceola Township...

 and just east of Mason

Mason, Houghton County, Michigan

Mason is a small community in Houghton County, Michigan that is the remainder of past Stamp mill operations at the Quincy Mining Company Stamp Mills. Still standing and mostly occupied are 23 mining company houses, all along M-26. Mason has been dubbed by some locals "shutter town," because each...

 in Osceola Township

Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan

Osceola Township is a civil township of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,908 at the 2000 census.-Communities:...

. It was constructed to reclaim stamping sand

Stamp sand

Stamp sand is a coarse sand left over from the processing of ore in a stamp mill. In the United States, the most well-known deposits of stamp sand are in the Copper Country of northern Michigan, where it is black or dark grey, and may contain hazardous concentrations of trace metals.In the 19th...

 from the lake for further processing, and was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1978.

History

The Reclaiming Sand Dredge was constructed for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company

Calumet and Hecla Mining Company

The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major copper-mining company based in the Michigan Copper Country. In the 19th century, the company paid out more than $72 million in shareholder dividends, more than any other mining company in the United States during that period.-History:In 1864, Edwin J...

 in 1914 by the Bucyrus Company

Bucyrus International

Bucyrus International, Inc. , was an American surface and underground mining equipment company. Founded as Bucyrus Foundry and Manufacturing Company in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1880, Bucyrus moved company headquarters to South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1893. In its early history, Bucyrus produced steam...

 of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

South Milwaukee is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 21,256 at the 2000 census.-Geography:South Milwaukee is located at ....

, and designated the Calumet and Hecla Dredge Number One. The dredge was used to reclaim previously-milled sand deposited in the lake after if had gone through the stamp mill

Stamp mill

A stamp mill is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operation....

. The dredged sand contained copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 that earlier stamping technology had not been able to separate out. Improvements in stamping efficiency and cost increases in traditional shaft mining made these sand tailings economically feasible to reclaim and re-stamp.

Calumet and Hecla used the dredge at their Lake Linden Reclamation Plant until 1951. In 1951, the Quincy Mine

Quincy Mine

The Quincy Mine is an extensive set of copper mines located near Hancock, Michigan. The mine was owned by the Quincy Mining Company and operated between 1846 and 1945, although some activities continued through the 1970s. The Quincy Mine was known as "Old Reliable," as the Quincy Mine Company paid...

 purchased the dredge and designated it as their Quincy Dredge Number Two, using it at their own reclamation facility, which had been in operation since 1943. The mine's Quincy Dredge Number One sank in 1956, and Dredge Number Two was used until 1967, when it too sank during a winter lay-up. By this time, copper prices had fallen low enough that the reclamation process was not profitable, and the Quincy Mine abandoned both the dredge and its reclamation facility.

The dredge is currently owned by Houghton County

Houghton County, Michigan

-National protected areas:* Keweenaw National Historical Park * Ottawa National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 36,016 people, 13,793 households, and 8,137 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile . There were 17,748 housing...

, and is off-limits to the public.

Description

The dredge is a large, box-like vessel that was used to remove sand from the lake bottom. The vessel has a steel hull measuring 110 feet long, 56 feet wide, and 9 feet deep. The decking overhangs the hull by eight feet per side, giving an overall width of 72 feet. The dredge could process over 10,000 tons of sand per day, and had a 141-foot suction pipe that could work in 115 feet of water.

The dredge is currently sunk in shallow water, and canted over to one side. Most of the superstructure and the large boom are visible above the waterline.